Eauchiche

I saw an imaging of a normal adult male brain side by side with a brain of an advanced A. The anatomical differences were striking.

I have also noticed similar personality traits in my A to other A males. Actually, in all 4 individuals, they have no personality.

These observations all lead me to this question:
Does the alcohol eventually eat away at those parts of the brain that cause higher functioning "human" behaviors, thus they revert to more animal-like characteristics? Just wondering.

LemonGirl

Google search! I used only .orgs and .govs... forgive the posting format; my phone sucks... lol

Okay, first: "...Long-term heavy drinking can shrink the frontal lobes of the brain, which impairs thinking skills.

LemonGirl

Then, "The frontal lobe is one of the four major divisions of the cerebral cortex. This part of the brain regulates decision making, problem solving, control of purposeful behaviors, consciousness, and emotions. The primary motor cortex is part of the frontal lobe and is responsible for regulating voluntary movements."

LemonGirl

Finally, and this is where it gets really interesting, " Your identity in this sense consists roughly of what makes you unique as an individual and different from others. Or it is the way you see or define yourself, or the network of values and convictions that structure your life. This individual identity is a property (or set of properties). Presumably it is one you have only contingently: you might have had a different identity from the one you in fact have. It is also a property that you may have only temporarily: you could swap your current individual identity for a new one, or perhaps even get by without any."

Mango blast

Great info. They went over much of that at the rehabs centers we've been to. "We" because I appreciate the opportunities I also was given for much learning.

Types of Brain Imaging Techniques | Psych Central

Alcohol and Drug Abuse - Amen Clinics

Brain imaging generally shows brain activity. Physical size and shape of the brain can also be affected. They can also be healed and/or grow new pathways. This is all a part of PAWS and working an active recovery program.

Subdued personality can be due to addiction, lack of nurturing and modeling during childhood or other physical or mental illnesses.

The LEAP institute has good information on connecting with those in our lives with mental illnesses. I've applied that to myself as well.

Eauchiche

Thanks very much.
You never know, this thread could go viral.....

LemonGirl

So I'm gathering that alcohol does in fact affect the personality. Could be that the drinker once thought it was a positive affect on his/her personality. A perceived positive affect. And later, since alcohol affects consciousness, decision making, problem solving, and emotions, the behavior or personality of this person will share those detriments with other A's, and THAT becomes the identity. Hmmm...

Johnston

Alcohol eats away at a lot of things, relationships, jobs, peace of mind.

Yurt

I wonder if any of that brain function is recoverable once it has been lost. Studies in mice have shown that both exercise and cognitive stimulation can allow the brain to increase connections between synapses, but I have never seen any studies about recovering alcoholics.

Mango blast

Yes, it is recoverable through healing, regeneration and new pathways developing in the brain.

Brain Recovery From Alcoholism Seen Soon After Abstinence: Study

Post Acute Withdrawal Symptoms (PAWS) can last for 2 years. For many, it isn't a completely linear road to healing.

LemonGirl

My sister became schizophrenic after doing too much meth and some type of hallucinogenic. The onset of this type is schitzoaffective disorder. Anyway, the nuero pathways in her brain will NEVER return to normal functioning because the synapses were over-used, overstimulated, and eventually just broke.

And I also know that general brain development is at high speed when we are infants up until about the age of four or five. The brain will have literally THOUSANDS of connections just for one task, and the connections will start to die off as the child begins to specialize a particular task. It becomes solidified by repetition and trial and error. (Imagine the brain connections made in abused and neglected children...) The last part of the brain to become developed is the frontal lobe, and this happens in our early 20's, which is why young college students can be so passionate. (Imagine how picking up drinking at an early age will affect this part of the brain's growth.) And, we can still learn and create new pathways as an adult, but it is a thousand times harder! I think of that, and then the fact that alcohol or any substance kills normal body function... the body is just unhealthy, and it must be even harder to create new pathways... that is, new thought patterns. I guess that's why recovery is a holistic process? Where the person's health is a necessary part of getting sober....

Mango blast

Yes to that also. Sadly, sometimes the damage is just too great.

HMA, I'm very sorry about your sister.

auroraxborealis

Here's a quick overview on Phineas Gage: Phineas Gage - His Amazing Story He was a railroad worker who sustained an injury (spike through his forhead) and went from being a stand-up guy with a job, to acting like an irresponsible teenager. If that spike went through the back of his throat, he would probably have died.

Humans don't NEED the front parts of their brains. But that's the part that makes us human. That's were personalities come from. That's what makes me, me. But I don't NEED it. take it away, and I will still be a walking, talking, breathing, digesting living thing. Think about it--if humans back in the day spent their time running from saber-toothed tigers and finding food, hydration, shelter, and safety, what the heck do they need to solve jigsaw puzzles for? Or program computer software?

The frontal lobe is the last part to develop. Both in terms of the evolution of the human brain, and the development of an individual human. It doesn't typically complete forming until about the age of 25. A lot of times, you hear about addicts who started use during their teenage years, and their mental age is arrested, or frozen at the time they started. The frontal lobe is why.

auroraxborealis

Here's a quick overview on Phineas Gage: Phineas Gage - His Amazing Story He was a railroad worker who sustained an injury (spike through his forhead) and went from being a stand-up guy with a job, to acting like an irresponsible teenager. If that spike went through the back of his throat, he would probably have died.

Humans don't NEED the front parts of their brains. But that's the part that makes us human. That's were personalities come from. That's what makes me, me. But I don't NEED it. take it away, and I will still be a walking, talking, breathing, digesting living thing. Think about it--if humans back in the day spent their time running from saber-toothed tigers and finding food, hydration, shelter, and safety, what the heck do they need to solve jigsaw puzzles for? Or program computer software?

The frontal lobe is the last part to develop. Both in terms of the evolution of the human brain, and the development of an individual human. It doesn't typically complete forming until about the age of 25. A lot of times, you hear about addicts who started use during their teenage years, and their mental age is arrested, or frozen at the time they started. The frontal lobe is why.

carlingford

great ARTICLEI love positive giving hope articles like that , really gives me a boost and feel good factor, thanks so much

Hammer

You may like this thread . . . .

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...an-thread.html

ladyscribbler

My ex suffered 3 TBIs in Iraq. I have wondered if that's why his alcoholism seems to be progressing so quickly, and is that is what causes his blackouts to be so frequent and severe.
He was in a study for survivors multiple brain injuries at the VA. Not sure how that's going because of how badly he is continuing to damage his brain with alcohol.

AnvilheadII

one of the end results of long term chronic late stage alcoholism is what they call 'wet brain" - a truly awful destination. ANY foreign non-organic substance that we put into our bodies consistently over a long period of time is going to have a detrimental effect. in fact many ORGANIC substances will as well.........too much salt, sugar, coffee, nicotine.

alcohol and drugs are mood and mind altering substances. and the brain for all it's amazing abilities and elasticity can only take so much. just like the liver.

noinsanity2423

I noticed early on that my ex fiancé was incapable of making sound decisions. She got us roped into an expensive apartment without considering that we were both still in school, and she was paying $400 a month for a new car. She wanted the apartment, but didn't understand the financial commitment. She would want to skip work and go on vacation, too, without understanding that there are consequences for that. Imagine how scared I was when she started asking me to give her babies. Thank God we didn't.

lillamy

Here: